Football: Terry Sees Red As Chelsea Fail To Go Top

LIVERPOOL, England: Ten-man Chelsea failed to go top of the English Premier League after being held to a goalless draw away to Everton on Monday in a match where their captain John Terry was sent-off.

This result at Goodison Park saw Chelsea move to within a point of leaders Liverpool – Everton’s city rivals – and ended a run of 11 straight away league wins for the Blues.

Chelsea played 55 minutes of the match a man down after England skipper Terry received a straight red card from referee Phil Dowd for a late and dangerous tackle on Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

But, despite the centre-half’s expulsion 10 minutes before half-time, Everton – without a recognised striker because of injury – couldn’t score and the draw saw them stay seventh in the table.

Everton did almost snatch victory late on when Steven Pienaar had a ‘goal’ disallowed by Dowd.

The South African midfielder bundled the ball over the line six minutes from time after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had saved Osman’s initial shot.

But having seemingly strayed into an offside position, Pienaar’s goal was then chalked off after Dowd ruled that the ball had been kicked out of Cech’s grasp, with the goalkeeper clearly having two hands on the ball.

The incident came at the end of a dramatic Goodison Park clash that saw Chelsea drop points away from home for the first time since last December.

Chelsea, who’d seen Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal on Sunday, were going for a Premier League record of 12 straight away wins against an Everton side that had won just once on home turf all season.

Injuries to Everton’s strikers again saw manager David Moyes field Australia’s Tim Cahill as the lone man up front after the midfielder had netted an an injury-time winner at Manchester City last week.

Chelsea made the brighter start, though, and defender Ashley Cole almost gave them a second minute lead after breaking behind the Everton back four to fire a left-foot volley at goal.

But United States goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted well to push the shot behind for a corner.

Moyes’ team, who suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa in their last outing at Goodison Park, responded well and captain Phil Neville’s 25-yard effort forced Cech into a fine save.

Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka once again keeping Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba on the bench, struggled to make any headway against the home side.

Their frustration spilled over in the 35th minute when Terry committed the foul that saw him rightly sent off by Dowd.

The England captain was always up against it in his bid to beat Osman to the ball inside the Everton half and he mis-timed his tackle badly, catching his opponent on the leg in front of the referee and, for the second time this season, Terry found himself dismissed.

Had Everton been blessed with a full complement of strikers, a second-half onslaught against Chelsea’s goal could have been expected.

But with options limited, Moyes’s team instead attempted to find their way to goal by gradually increasing the pressure on their under-manned opponents and it was a frustrating spectacle for the home supporters.

And as the clocked ticked by, only a Marouane Fellaini header from Neville’s cross, saved by Cech in the 53rd minute, was created by a cautious Everton.

Chelsea were unable to push Everton back inside their own territory, however, and an off-target 30-yard strike from Frank Lampard in the 75th minute was as close as they came to scoring.

Everton almost snatched it when Fellaini’s back-heel bounced just wide of the far post 10 minutes from the finish, but Chelsea somehow held out to claim what could ultimately prove to be a crucial point. – AFP/de

Football: Terry Sees Red As Chelsea Fail To Go Top

LIVERPOOL, England: Ten-man Chelsea failed to go top of the English Premier League after being held to a goalless draw away to Everton on Monday in a match where their captain John Terry was sent-off.

This result at Goodison Park saw Chelsea move to within a point of leaders Liverpool – Everton’s city rivals – and ended a run of 11 straight away league wins for the Blues.

Chelsea played 55 minutes of the match a man down after England skipper Terry received a straight red card from referee Phil Dowd for a late and dangerous tackle on Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

But, despite the centre-half’s expulsion 10 minutes before half-time, Everton – without a recognised striker because of injury – couldn’t score and the draw saw them stay seventh in the table.

Everton did almost snatch victory late on when Steven Pienaar had a ‘goal’ disallowed by Dowd.

The South African midfielder bundled the ball over the line six minutes from time after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had saved Osman’s initial shot.

But having seemingly strayed into an offside position, Pienaar’s goal was then chalked off after Dowd ruled that the ball had been kicked out of Cech’s grasp, with the goalkeeper clearly having two hands on the ball.

The incident came at the end of a dramatic Goodison Park clash that saw Chelsea drop points away from home for the first time since last December.

Chelsea, who’d seen Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal on Sunday, were going for a Premier League record of 12 straight away wins against an Everton side that had won just once on home turf all season.

Injuries to Everton’s strikers again saw manager David Moyes field Australia’s Tim Cahill as the lone man up front after the midfielder had netted an an injury-time winner at Manchester City last week.

Chelsea made the brighter start, though, and defender Ashley Cole almost gave them a second minute lead after breaking behind the Everton back four to fire a left-foot volley at goal.

But United States goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted well to push the shot behind for a corner.

Moyes’ team, who suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa in their last outing at Goodison Park, responded well and captain Phil Neville’s 25-yard effort forced Cech into a fine save.

Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka once again keeping Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba on the bench, struggled to make any headway against the home side.

Their frustration spilled over in the 35th minute when Terry committed the foul that saw him rightly sent off by Dowd.

The England captain was always up against it in his bid to beat Osman to the ball inside the Everton half and he mis-timed his tackle badly, catching his opponent on the leg in front of the referee and, for the second time this season, Terry found himself dismissed.

Had Everton been blessed with a full complement of strikers, a second-half onslaught against Chelsea’s goal could have been expected.

But with options limited, Moyes’s team instead attempted to find their way to goal by gradually increasing the pressure on their under-manned opponents and it was a frustrating spectacle for the home supporters.

And as the clocked ticked by, only a Marouane Fellaini header from Neville’s cross, saved by Cech in the 53rd minute, was created by a cautious Everton.

Chelsea were unable to push Everton back inside their own territory, however, and an off-target 30-yard strike from Frank Lampard in the 75th minute was as close as they came to scoring.

Everton almost snatched it when Fellaini’s back-heel bounced just wide of the far post 10 minutes from the finish, but Chelsea somehow held out to claim what could ultimately prove to be a crucial point. – AFP/de

Football: Terry Sees Red As Chelsea Fail To Go Top

LIVERPOOL, England: Ten-man Chelsea failed to go top of the English Premier League after being held to a goalless draw away to Everton on Monday in a match where their captain John Terry was sent-off.

This result at Goodison Park saw Chelsea move to within a point of leaders Liverpool – Everton’s city rivals – and ended a run of 11 straight away league wins for the Blues.

Chelsea played 55 minutes of the match a man down after England skipper Terry received a straight red card from referee Phil Dowd for a late and dangerous tackle on Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

But, despite the centre-half’s expulsion 10 minutes before half-time, Everton – without a recognised striker because of injury – couldn’t score and the draw saw them stay seventh in the table.

Everton did almost snatch victory late on when Steven Pienaar had a ‘goal’ disallowed by Dowd.

The South African midfielder bundled the ball over the line six minutes from time after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had saved Osman’s initial shot.

But having seemingly strayed into an offside position, Pienaar’s goal was then chalked off after Dowd ruled that the ball had been kicked out of Cech’s grasp, with the goalkeeper clearly having two hands on the ball.

The incident came at the end of a dramatic Goodison Park clash that saw Chelsea drop points away from home for the first time since last December.

Chelsea, who’d seen Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal on Sunday, were going for a Premier League record of 12 straight away wins against an Everton side that had won just once on home turf all season.

Injuries to Everton’s strikers again saw manager David Moyes field Australia’s Tim Cahill as the lone man up front after the midfielder had netted an an injury-time winner at Manchester City last week.

Chelsea made the brighter start, though, and defender Ashley Cole almost gave them a second minute lead after breaking behind the Everton back four to fire a left-foot volley at goal.

But United States goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted well to push the shot behind for a corner.

Moyes’ team, who suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa in their last outing at Goodison Park, responded well and captain Phil Neville’s 25-yard effort forced Cech into a fine save.

Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka once again keeping Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba on the bench, struggled to make any headway against the home side.

Their frustration spilled over in the 35th minute when Terry committed the foul that saw him rightly sent off by Dowd.

The England captain was always up against it in his bid to beat Osman to the ball inside the Everton half and he mis-timed his tackle badly, catching his opponent on the leg in front of the referee and, for the second time this season, Terry found himself dismissed.

Had Everton been blessed with a full complement of strikers, a second-half onslaught against Chelsea’s goal could have been expected.

But with options limited, Moyes’s team instead attempted to find their way to goal by gradually increasing the pressure on their under-manned opponents and it was a frustrating spectacle for the home supporters.

And as the clocked ticked by, only a Marouane Fellaini header from Neville’s cross, saved by Cech in the 53rd minute, was created by a cautious Everton.

Chelsea were unable to push Everton back inside their own territory, however, and an off-target 30-yard strike from Frank Lampard in the 75th minute was as close as they came to scoring.

Everton almost snatched it when Fellaini’s back-heel bounced just wide of the far post 10 minutes from the finish, but Chelsea somehow held out to claim what could ultimately prove to be a crucial point. – AFP/de